Arthur and the Sitter
by Mina-Prower
Summary: While Arthur's parents are out of town to go see a musical, Francine's sister Catherine is invited to babysit the kids for the rest of the day before the parents come home.


**Arthur and the Sitter**

Disclaimer: I do not own _Arthur_ or any of its characters or content from the series. The characters and etc. from _Arthur_ belong to Marc Brown, PBS, WGBH, and Cookie Jar (formerly CINAR).

One Saturday morning at 8:00 AM, 8-year-old Arthur Read was peacefully asleep in his room. His dog, Pal was sleeping on top of his stomach that was under the covers.

Meanwhile, in D.W. and Kate's room, 4-year-old D.W. woke up by a very strange smell. It was coming from 1-year-old Kate's crib. She crawled out of her bed and walked over to the crib. She sniffed as hard as she could.

"EEWW!" said D.W. in disgust. "Kate just pooped."

Kate was still sleeping peacefully.

Downstairs, their parents, David and Jane who were in their early 30s were in the kitchen cooking pancakes and bacon for breakfast. They were dressed up to go see a musical performance outside of Elwood City.

D.W. then walked out of her room and knocked on Arthur's door.

"Arthur?" called D.W., knocking on the door.

Arthur then starting moving a little bit in his bed. Then D.W. knocked even louder.

"Arthur?" called D.W., louder. "ARTHUR!"

Arthur quickly sat up in his bed, yawned, and then put on his glasses. Pal moved right off of Arthur's legs and towards the edge of the bed. Arthur then crawled out of the covers, sat at the edge of the bed, then stepped off of the bed and put on his white rabbit slippers. Pal then jumped off the bed and landed safely on the floor. Arthur then walked to the door and opened it.

"What do you want, D.W.?" said Arthur, a little weary.

"Kate needs a new diaper," said D.W.

"Did she poop?" asked Arthur.

"Yes," said D.W. "And I can't stand it."

"All right," said Arthur. "I'll go change her diaper."

Arthur then walked over to D.W. and Kate's room. He walked over to Kate's crib, and opened it down. D.W. walked in there, too.

"Good morning, baby doll," said Arthur, smiling.

Then Arthur tickled Kate with his palm. Kate then started laughing.

"Yes," said Arthur. "It's time to change your diaper, it's dirty."

Arthur then sniffed loudly at the smell, but he couldn't stand it. While D.W. was watching, he picked up Kate and took her out of her crib, and then put her on the diaper-changing table and laid her on her back. He took out a box of wet wipes that was labeled as "Aardvark Wipes" with a yellow cap on it, and a diaper from the stack of daytime diapers that were both below where Kate was being placed. The daytime diaper had a sticker full of brown teddy bears on the front of it. He set the box and the clean diaper two inches from where Kate was placed. He then pulled down Kate's pajama pants, revealing a nighttime diaper with a sticker that had a sleeping bear and moon and stars on it, and then untaped the diaper, and then looked at the soil in shock.

"Yuck!" winced Arthur.

"EEWW!" winced D.W.

Arthur then wrapped the dirty diaper, and then lifted up Kate's legs with one hand, then picked up the dirty diaper with the other hand, then stepped on the foot lever to open up the diaper pail, and then dropped the diaper into the pail, and then released his foot from the lever to close the pail. While he was still lifting Kate's legs, he opened up the box of wipes with the same hand he discarded the dirty diaper, and took out a tissue and wiped her up, and then tossed the tissue into the pail. Then he unfolded the clean diaper and taped it on her, and pulled her pants back on.

"There," sighed Arthur, happily. "Now, you're clean."

"Finally, a clean diaper," said D.W.

"Changing diapers isn't fun," said Arthur. "Although the Brain sure doesn't have as bad as a problem as I do for changing dirty diapers. When he comes over, he's especially helpful for changing Kate, but he always wears that surgical mask so that he doesn't take in the smell. I wished we had a surgical mask, but Mom and Dad don't think it's worth it."

Arthur then imagined the Brain putting on a surgical mask and a pair of latex gloves, and then changing Kate's diaper.

"When was the last time you had to wear diapers?" asked D.W.

"Well, that's an easy question," Arthur replied. "When you stop wetting the bed at night or if you feel you can hold it before you can reach the bathroom."

"Of course," said D.W.

"Well," said Arthur. "I was toilet-trained when I was two and a half years old, and then I learned to dress myself or change my clothes when I was three and a half years old, plus I learned to diaper myself for bed without my parents needing to diaper me, and I stopped wetting the bed when I was four years old and then I stopped wearing diapers two weeks after that."

"And, I was potty-trained when I was two and a quarter years old," said D.W., "and then I learned to dress myself or change my clothes when I was three and a half years old, plus I learned to diaper myself for bed without my parents needing to diaper me, and I stopped wetting the bed when I was three and three quarter years old, and then I stopped wearing diapers two weeks after that."

Arthur then put the box of wipes back where he found it, and picked up Kate, and then he and D.W. walked out of the room.

"Arthur, D.W.!" called Jane from the kitchen. "Time for breakfast!"

Arthur and D.W. then walked down the stairs and into the kitchen. Arthur then put Kate into her highchair. Then he walked over to the cupboards and took out two dishes, and then took out two tablespoons from the silverware drawer, and carried the dishes with the spoons to the table. D.W. sat at the table and in front of the empty bowl with the spoon. Then Arthur took out two glasses and Kate's sippy cup from the same cupboard and put them on the table. Then he took out two boxes of cereal from another cupboard: one box was a blue box of _Bionic Bunny_ cereal and another was a pink box of _Mary Moo Cow_ cereal, and then he took out a carton of white milk and a carton of orange juice from the refrigerator, and carried the cereal boxes in his arms and the beverage cartons in his hands, and walked to the table and set them all down. Arthur passed the _Mary Moo Cow_ cereal box to D.W. Arthur then opened his box of _Bionic Bunny_ cereal and poured it into his dish, and then poured milk in his cereal bowl. Then he took the cap off of Kate's sippy cup and poured in some milk, and closed the sippy cup and put it on Kate's highchair tray. D.W. then opened her box of _Mary Moo Cow_ cereal and poured it into her dish. Then Arthur poured the milk into D.W.'s cereal bowl.

"Thanks, Arthur," said D.W.

"Anytime," said Arthur.

Then Arthur poured orange juice into his glass, and he poured orange juice into D.W.'s glass, also.

"Thanks again," Arthur," said D.W.

"I'm glad I could do this for you," said Arthur.

As Arthur and D.W. started eating their cereals and as Kate starting drinking her milk, David and Jane then finished cooking their meals. They each buttered their own pancakes, put maple syrup on them, and cut them up into pieces. Then they brought their plates to the table, and then brought their bacons along to eat with.

"Well, kids," said David, "your mom and I are going out of town to this musical performance we're going to. It's three hours away and it starts at 5:00, and we won't be back until after 10:00."

"And, we're going to have Catherine babysit you guys," Jane added. "And, your Grandma is currently out of town and she won't be back until tomorrow afternoon."

David then started eating his breakfast, and then Jane picked up the phone, and dialed the number to the Frenskys' apartment.

Meanwhile, at the Frenskys' apartment, the mother, Laverne who was in her early 40s was cleaning the kitchen, 16-year-old Catherine was eating an apple from the refrigerator, and 8-year-old Francine was getting ready to go over to Muffy's. The father, Oliver who was in his early 40s was at work at the Elwood City Dump. Right away, the telephone rang. Laverne quickly answered the phone.

"Hello?" said Laverne.

"Hi, Laverne," said Jane from the Reads' house. "Is Catherine there?"

"Yes, sure," replied Laverne.

Then Laverne lowered the phone from her ear.

"Catherine," said Laverne, "you have a phone call. It's Jane Read."

Laverne then walked over to Catherine and handed her the phone.

"Hello?" said Catherine. "Jane?"

"Catherine," said Jane, "David and I are going out of town to go see a musical performance."

"The musical," said Catherine.

"If you could watch the kids while we're gone, that would be great. We'll be back by 10:00 at night."

"Great," said Catherine. "I'll see you right after I drop off Francine to Muffy's."

"Bye," said Jane.

"Bye," replied Catherine.

Then they both hung up the phone.

"Kids," said Jane from the Reads' house, "after you guys finish eating your breakfast, just shower up and get dressed, because Catherine will be here within fifteen minutes."

Then Jane sat down and started eating her breakfast.

"Ready, Francine?" said Catherine from the Frenskys' apartment.

"You bet," said Francine.

Then Catherine picked up the set of keys from the key rack by the front door that had the apartment key and car keys, and then she and Francine headed out of their apartment. Then they walked down the hall, down the stairs, and out of the building. As they left the building, they walked over to the full-sized 4-door sedan. On the exterior, the car was brown with two red lines around it, dual circular headlamps, rectangle taillights, a single exhaust system, and old-style wheel rims; on the interior, the seats were red, the ignition and gear shift were mounted on the steering column, and the windows on the doors were operated by rotating the crank. Catherine then unlocked the car door with the car door key, opened the door, stepped inside the car, and closed the door. Then she reached for Francine's door on the passenger side, and unlocked the door, and Francine sat in the rear seat. Catherine put the ignition key in the ignition and began to start the car. While she was starting the car, the engine was clicking, and all she had to do was to rapidly pump the accelerator in order for it to start and run. Then she put the car in gear and left the parking lot. As they left the parking lot, Catherine cranked her window down, and then Francine cranked her window down, too.

At the Reads' house, Arthur and D.W. carried their dishes and glasses to the sink. Arthur washed them and put them in the dishwasher. Arthur then ran upstairs, and D.W. followed him along. Arthur went to his room to get his clean clothes and sneakers, and then he walked into the bathroom and closed the door and started showering up. D.W. then walked into her room to get her clean clothes and Mary Janes.

After Arthur showered up, he got dressed, brushed his teeth, and then opened the door and walked out of the bathroom, carrying his pajamas and slippers.

"Go on, D.W.," Arthur said right after he walked out of the bathroom. "You'd better hurry up; Catherine will be here any minute."

"Okay," said D.W.

Then D.W. walked into the bathroom and closed the door. Arthur carried his pajamas and slippers into his room and put the pajamas into the laundry basket and put his slippers on top of the dresser. Then he made his bed.

Catherine was on her way to drop off Francine at Muffy's, the other drivers could see her family's car bouncing up and down and could hear the car's knocking noise from the engine.

Just then, Catherine arrived at the Crosswires' mansion and parked the car. Francine then rolled up her window and stepped out of the car.

"Have fun at Muffy's," said Catherine.

"I will," said Francine. "Bye."

"Bye," Catherine replied.

Francine walked up to the front doors of the mansion and rang the doorbell.

"Francine!" Muffy said excitedly from inside the mansion.

8-year-old Muffy Crosswire walked to the front doors and opened it.

"Hi, Francine," greeted Muffy.

"Hey, Muffy," Francine greeted in reply.

Then Francine walked inside the mansion and she and Muffy both closed the door. As Francine entered the mansion, Catherine put the car back into gear and headed to the Reads' house.

Back at the Reads' house, after D.W. showered, she got dressed, brushed her teeth, and then opened the door and walked out of the bathroom, carrying her pajamas. Then she carried her pajamas into her room and put them into the laundry basket. Then she made her bed.

Then Arthur and D.W. walked down the stairs. Their parents were about to leave. Then they walked into the living room and looked out the window and spotted a brown car out in the distance.

Outside, Catherine drove past the Tibbles' house and then parked next to the curb of the Reads' front yard. In the driveway sat the Reads' purple 4-door station wagon. Then Catherine rolled up her window and shut off the engine. Then she stepped outside the car and closed the door.

"It's Catherine," said Arthur from inside the house.

Catherine then walked around the front end of her family's car and walked on the footsteps to the front door. Then she knocked on the front door.

Right after Catherine knocked on the door, Jane opened the door.

"Good morning, Catherine," Jane greeted.

"Good morning, Jane," Catherine greeted in reply.

Then Catherine closed the door after she walked in. Arthur and D.W. then walked out of the living room.

"Hey, Catherine," greeted Arthur and D.W.

"All right, Catherine," said David. "We're going out to see a musical performance out of town. We'll be back by 10:00 at night."

"All right," replied Catherine.

"And make sure the kids don't get into a fight," continued David.

"Yes, sir," replied Catherine.

"And make sure to prepare them some lunch," continued David.

"Sure thing," replied Catherine.

"And feed Kate when she's hungry and change her diapers if she needs it," continued David.

"Yes, sir," replied Catherine.

"And Arthur, here is the money if you guys would like to order a pizza for dinner tonight," David said to Arthur.

"Sure," said Arthur, receiving the dollar bills from David.

"Well, we have to get going," said Jane.

"Have fun at the show," said Arthur, D.W., and Catherine, waving to them as they were leaving.

"And have fun watching the kids," said Jane.

"Bye Mom, bye Dad," said Arthur.

"Bye Mommy, bye Daddy," said D.W.

Then David and Jane walked out of the house and closed the door. Then they walked to the car in the driveway and stepped inside. David was driving, and Jane was riding in the front seat. David started the car, backed out of the driveway, and then departed from the house and went the direction that the Frenskys' parked car was facing.

After they heard David and Jane leaving, Catherine looked up at the ceiling and started to think.

"Make sure Arthur and D.W. don't fight, check," said Catherine to herself. "Feed them lunch, check. Feed Kate when she's hungry, check. Change Kate's diapers, check."

Then Catherine turned to Arthur and D.W.

"Well, you two," said Catherine. "What would you like to do?"

"How about we go riding bikes?" Arthur suggested.

"No," said Catherine. "Besides, you can't leave the house if your parents are not home. And it's my job to watch you guys, feed you guys, and change Kate."

"How about we play _Old Maid_?" D.W. suggested.

"That would be fun," said Catherine.

"That's a boring game," said Arthur.

"Not until you get used to it," said D.W. "I play it with my classmates at preschool."

"I stopped playing that game when I was five," said Arthur.

D.W. ran upstairs and into her room and picked up the _Old Maid_ card game that showed an elderly rabbit on it. She couldn't read very well, but she the picture on it. Then she ran back downstairs.

"Let's play," said D.W.

Then they walked into the living room and they sat in circles on the living room rug.

"I haven't played _Old Maid_ since I was six," said Catherine.

Then D.W. took the cards out of the box.

"Arthur, read the instructions, shuffle the cards, and deal them out," said D.W.

D.W. then handed the cards to Arthur. Arthur then took out the card that showed the instructions. Then Arthur looked at the instructions and read them out loud.

"For two to six players," Arthur read. "Objective: Avoid holding the 'Old Maid' card at the end of the game. How to play: One player shuffles the cards and deals them out to all the players face-down, and then all the players pick up their cards without the other players looking at their cards. At the start of the game, if you have two cards that match, put the matching cards in your row face-up. As soon as you have all the cards that are different from each other in your hand, choose a card from any player and add it to your hands (Don't lean over or you might cheat). If you find a matching card, put the two matching cards together and put them in your row of matches face-up. The player with the most matches who does not have the 'Old Maid' card wins the game."

Arthur then started to shuffle the cards and deal them around. From the start, Arthur had two matches, D.W. had four matches, and Catherine had three matches. Then they began to play. Arthur was currently holding the "Old Maid" card along with the other cards. Arthur had the first turn. He took a card from Catherine's hand, and it was a hammer that matched the nail from one of his cards. D.W. took a card from Arthur's hand, and it was a baby bottle that matched with the baby monkey from one of her cards. Then Catherine took a card from D.W.'s hand, and it was a tire that matched with the car from one of her cards. Then Arthur took a card from D.W.'s hand, and it was a balloon, but none of his cards matched the balloon. Then D.W. took a card from Catherine's hand, and it was a crown that matched with the princess from one of her cards. Then Catherine took a card from Arthur's hand, and it was the "Old Maid" card. Then Arthur took a card from D.W.'s hand, and it was a birdhouse, but none of his cards matched the birdhouse. Then D.W. took a card from Catherine's hand, and it was the "Old Maid" card. Then Catherine took a card from Arthur's hand, and it was a balloon that matched the string from one of her cards. Then Arthur took a card from Catherine's hand, and it was a songbook, but none of his cards matched the songbook. Then D.W. took a card from Arthur's hand, and it was raindrops, but none of her cards matched the raindrops. Then Catherine took a card from D.W.'s hand, and it was raindrops that matched the umbrella from her cards. Then Arthur took a card from Catherine's hand, and it was a straw, but none of his cards matched the straw. Then D.W. took a card from Arthur's hand, and it was a songbook that matched the piano from her cards. Then Catherine took a card from Arthur's hand, and it was an apple that matched the tree from one of her cards.

Later on, they finished the game. D.W. won the game, and Arthur ended up with the "Old Maid" card and lost.

"I win!" called D.W.

"I knew it!" said Arthur in disbelief. "That is one dopey game!"

Then Arthur quickly threw the card down.

"Arthur, if you wreck those cards, you're going to pay for them," said D.W.

"But, D.W.," said Arthur, "that game ruined my life."

"I was trying to have some fun with you," said D.W.

"No, you weren't," said Arthur. "You even tricked me into this game."

"Arthur, calm down," said Catherine. "Some people win at one game, and lose at the other."

"D.W., put that game away," Arthur demanded.

D.W. then picked up the cards, straightened them, and put them all in the box. Then she put the _Old Maid_ game back to her room, and came back downstairs.

"How about a game called _Mis-Categorization_?" Catherine suggested.

"What's that game for?" asked Arthur.

"Well, you have to decide which one does not match or belong in that category," explained Catherine. "If you get it correct, you will get a tally mark, and then it's the next person's turn for the next one. If you don't get it correct, it's the next person's turn to decide. And if no one gets it correct, I will tell you the correct answer. The first to ten points wins. Do you guys have chart paper or a white board anywhere?"

"There are a stand and a whiteboard in the kitchen," said Arthur. "And there's a black marker and an eraser in one of the kitchen drawers."

Catherine then walked out of the living room and into the kitchen and picked up a wooden stand and carried it into the living room. Then she walked back to the kitchen and took out a black marker and eraser from one of the kitchen drawers, and then picked up a large whiteboard carried it into the living room. Then Catherine set the whiteboard onto the stand.

"Arthur and D.W., have a seat on the sofa," said Catherine. "And Arthur, you sit on D.W.'s left hand side, and D.W., you sit on Arthur's right hand side."

Then Catherine wrote Arthur's name on the left side of the board and underlined his name, and wrote D.W.'s name on the right side of the board and underlined her name, too.

"All right," said Catherine. "Let's begin. Arthur, you first. #1: diaper, bib, bottle, pacifier, pillow, rattle. Which one does not match with the others?"

"Pillow," Arthur answered.

"Awesome," said Catherine. "Pillow does not belong in there. Those are things for infants. A pillow is just something you put your head on for sleeping, and even infants sleep on those, too, because they need their naps."

Then Catherine wrote a tally mark on the chart for Arthur. It was 1-0.

"D.W., your turn," said Catherine. "#2: cow, pig, horse, albatross, chicken, goat. Which one does not match with the others?"

"Albatross," D.W. answered.

"Outstanding," said Catherine. "Albatross is not a part of that category. Those animals are farm animals. Albatrosses are seabirds, and they soar over the oceans."

Then Catherine wrote a tally mark on the chart for D.W. It was 1-1.

"Arthur, your turn," said Catherine. "#3: baseball, bat, mitt, umpire, putter, pitcher. Which one does not match with the others?"

"Putter," Arthur answered.

"Fantastic," said Catherine. "Putter is not part of that group. Those are all baseball things. A putter is a type of golf club you use to putt the ball while on the green or even playing mini-golf."

Then Catherine wrote a tally mark on the chart for Arthur. It was 2-1.

"D.W., your turn," said Catherine. "#4: tiger, lion, cheetah, wolf, leopard, cougar. Which one does not match with the others?"

"Wolf," D.W. answered.

"Correct," said Catherine. "Wolf is not a part of that group. These are all wild cats. Wolves are wild dogs, but they sure don't get along with wild cats."

Then Catherine wrote a tally mark on the chart for D.W. It was 2-2.

"Arthur, your turn," said Catherine. "#5: prince, pauper, princess, king, queen, knight. Which one does not match with the others?"

"Pauper," Arthur answered.

"You got it," said Catherine. "Pauper does not belong in there. These are all members of royalty. Paupers are low-income people when royal families are wealthy ones."

Then Catherine wrote a tally mark on the chart for Arthur. It was 3-2.

"D.W., your turn," said Catherine. "#6: house, apartment, condo, office, mansion, dorm. Which one does not match with the others?"

"Office," D.W. answered.

"Definitely," said Catherine. "Office isn't related to any of those. Those are all places to live in. An office is a place to work at, and you sure wouldn't want to sleep there, and it's hard to live without sleeping."

Then Catherine wrote a tally mark on the chart for D.W. It was 3-3.

"Arthur, your turn," said Catherine. "#7: kangaroo, koala, possum, panda, platypus, wombat. Which one does not match with the others?"

"Panda," Arthur answered.

"Absolutely," said Catherine. "Panda doesn't go with those animals. Those are all animals that live in Australia. Pandas live in Asia."

Then Catherine wrote a tally mark on the chart for Arthur. It was 4-3.

"D.W., your turn," said Catherine. "#8: shark, whale, dolphin, flamingo, seal, walrus. Which one does not match with the others?"

"Flamingo," D.W. answered.

"Yep, that's right," said Catherine. "Flamingo doesn't belong in that category. Those are all sea animals. Flamingoes walk through the ponds."

Then Catherine wrote a tally mark on the chart for D.W. It was 4-4.

"Arthur, your turn," said Catherine. "#9: lollipop, drop, licorice, buttercup, peppermint, bar. Which one does not match with the others?"

"Buttercup," Arthur answered.

"Super," said Catherine. "Buttercup is not any of those. Those are all candies. Buttercups are flowers from the genus _ranunculus_.

Then Catherine wrote a slash through the four tally marks for Arthur. It was 5-4.

"D.W., your turn," said Catherine. "#10: six, three, nine, mouse, four, two. Which one does not match with the others?"

"Mouse," D.W. answered.

"Good job," said Catherine. "Mouse is none of those. Those are all numbers. A mouse is a household pest that can eat crumbs worse than a bug, gross."

Then Catherine wrote a slash through the four tally marks for D.W. It was 5-5.

"Arthur, your turn," said Catherine. "#11: vase, lamp, rug, TV, clean, sofa. Which one does not match with the others?"

"Vase," Arthur answered.

"Nope that's not it," said Catherine. "D.W., you guess this one now. Vase, lamp, rug, TV, clean, sofa. Which one is not any of those?"

"Clean," D.W. answered.

"You got it," said Catherine. "Clean does not match with any of those. Those are all things you can have in your living room. You sure need to keep the living room clean."

Catherine then wrote an extra tally mark for D.W. It was 5-6, D.W. is now ahead of Arthur.

"Now it's your turn, Arthur," said Catherine. "#12: spin-the-bottle, trivia, poker, recital, checkers. Which one does not match with the others?"

"Recital," Arthur answered.

"Way to go," said Catherine. "Recital is does not belong in there. Those are all games to play. A recital is a concert for a lot of people, and it certainly isn't a game."

Catherine then wrote an extra tally mark for Arthur. It was 6-6.

"Now it's your turn, D.W.," said Catherine. #13: Kirby, Francis, Bridget, Antoine, Michael, Frederick. Which one does not match with the others?"

"Kirby," D.W. answered.

"Nope, that's not it," said Catherine. "Arthur, you guess this one now. Kirby, Francis, Bridget, Antoine, Michael, Frederick. Which one is not any of those?"

"Bridget," Arthur answered.

"Absolutely," said Catherine. "Bridget does not relate to any of those. Those are all male names. Bridget is a female name."

Catherine then wrote a tally mark for Arthur. It was 7-6, Arthur is now ahead of D.W.

"Now it's your turn, D.W." said Catherine. "#14: _Brontosaurus_, _Allosaurus_, _Triceratops_, _Diplodocus_, _Brachiosaurus_, _Stegosaurus_. Which one does not match with the others?"

"_Brontosaurus_," D.W. answered.

"Nope, that's not it," said Catherine. "Arthur, you guess this one now. _Brontosaurus, Allosaurus_,_ Triceratops_,_ Diplodocus_,_ Brachiosaurus_, _Stegosaurus_. Which one is not any of those?"

"_Triceratops_," Arthur answered.

"Awesome," said Catherine. "_Triceratops_ does not belong in that category. Those are all dinosaurs that live in the Jurassic Period or the Mid-Mesozoic era. _Triceratops_ is a dinosaur that lives in the Cretaceous Period or the Late Mesozoic era. Of course we live in the Cenozoic era, and it's the time after dinosaurs became extinct."

But D.W. still believed that dinosaurs were still around when they weren't.

Catherine then wrote a tally mark for Arthur. It was 8-6.

"Now it's your turn, D.W.," said Catherine. "#15: doll, action figure, game, bell, wind-up, pull-string. Which one does not match with the others."

"Bell," D.W. answered.

"That's right," said Catherine. "Bell does not belong in that group. All of those things are toys. Who would want to use a bell as a toy? I sure wouldn't."

Catherine then wrote a tally mark for D.W. It was 8-7.

"Arthur, your turn," said Catherine. "#16: TV, radio, computer, microwave, video games, telephone. Which one does not match with the others?"

"Microwave," Arthur answered.

"Excellent," said Catherine. "Microwave does not fit in that category. Those are all electronics. A microwave is a kitchen appliance you use to cook or defrost foods."

Catherine then wrote a tally mark for Arthur. It was 9-7.

"D.W., your turn," said Catherine. "#17: red, orange, green, plaid, blue, pink. Which one does not match with the others?"

"Plaid," D.W. answered.

"Correct," said Catherine. "Plaid does not belong in that category. Those are all colors. Plaid is a pattern where lines cross each other, and they normally have colors for the lines."

Catherine then wrote a tally mark for D.W. It was 9-8.

"Arthur, your turn," said Catherine. "#18: ice cream, cake, cookie, pizza, pie, donut. Which one does not match with the others?"

"Pizza," Arthur answered.

"Awesome," said Catherine. "Pizza does not go with that category. Those are all desserts. Pizza is just dough with tomato sauce, cheese, and toppings, and you would normally eat it for lunch or dinner."

Catherine then wrote a slash through the second four tally marks. It was 10-8.

"You win, Arthur," said Catherine.

Catherine then erased the entire whiteboard.

"How about _Hangman_?" Catherine suggested.

"I'll play," said Arthur.

"I can't read," said D.W.

"All right, then," said Catherine. "Just Arthur and me."

D.W. stood up from the sofa and walked out of the living room and upstairs to her and Kate's room to play with Kate.

Back in the living room, Catherine then wrote Arthur's name in the upper left corner of the board and underlined it, and then she wrote her name on the upper right corner of the board and underlined it, too. Then she drew the diagram in the middle of the board. On the bottom right corner, she wrote "TRASH" for letters that don't belong in the word before being revealed.

"All right," said Catherine. "In this game, guess the letters that you think might be in the word or words, but it's certainly best to start out with the vowels. It's a pretty simple game. You can guess the word or phrase if it's almost done. You only have six chances. On your turn, if you guess all the letters or the secret word or phrase correctly, you will earn a point, and if the diagram is complete which means the trash is full, then I get a point. And on my turn, if I guess all the letters or the secret word or phrase correctly, I will earn a point, and if the diagram is complete which means the trash is full, then you get a point. Ready?"

"Ready," said Arthur.

Catherine then wrote eight lines on the left of the diagram.

"A," said Arthur.

"There is one A," said Catherine.

Then Catherine wrote the letter A in the third line.

"C," said Arthur.

"There is one C," said Catherine.

Then Catherine wrote the letter C in the fifth line.

"L," said Arthur.

"Nope, no L's," said Catherine.

Catherine wrote the letter L under "TRASH" and drew a head in the diagram.

"F," said Arthur.

"There is one F," said Catherine.

Catherine wrote the letter F in the first line.

"N," said Arthur.

"There are two N's," said Catherine.

Catherine wrote two letter N's, one was in the fourth line while the other was in the seventh line.

"Francine," Arthur guessed.

Catherine then filled out the whole word FRANCINE.

"You got it," said Catherine.

Catherine wrote a tally mark for Arthur and erased the man in the diagram and all of the spelled out letters and letters in the "TRASH". Then she and Arthur switched places. As Catherine sat on the sofa, Arthur wrote five lines on the left of the diagram.

"A," said Catherine.

"There is one A," said Arthur.

Arthur wrote the letter A in the second line.

"C," said Catherine.

"Nope, no C's," said Arthur.

Arthur wrote the letter C under "TRASH" and drew a head in the diagram.

"P," said Catherine.

"There is one P," said Arthur.

Arthur wrote the letter P in the first line.

"S," said Catherine.

"No, no S's," said Arthur

Arthur wrote the letter S under "TRASH" and drew a stick torso in the diagram.

"Y," said Catherine.

"There is one Y," said Arthur.

Arthur wrote the letter Y in the fifth line.

"Party," Catherine guessed.

Arthur then filled out the whole word PARTY.

"You got it," said Arthur.

Arthur wrote a tally mark for Catherine and erased the man in the diagram, all the spelled out letters, and all the letters in the TRASH. Then he and Catherine switched places. As Arthur sat on the sofa, Catherine wrote six lines on the left of the diagram.

"O," said Arthur.

"There is one O," said Catherine.

Catherine wrote the letter O in the second line.

"A," said Arthur.

"Nope, no A's," said Catherine.

Catherine wrote the letter A under "TRASH" and drew a head in the diagram.

"K," said Arthur.

"There is one K," said Catherine.

Catherine wrote the letter K in the fourth line.

"E," said Arthur.

"There is one E," said Catherine.

Catherine wrote the letter E in the fifth line.

"R," said Arthur.

"Nope, no R's," said Catherine.

Catherine wrote the letter R under "TRASH" and drew the stick torso in the diagram.

"B," said Arthur.

"Nope, no B's," said Catherine.

Catherine wrote the letter B under "TRASH" and drew the right stick arm in the diagram.

"D," said Arthur.

"Nope, no D's," said Catherine.

Catherine wrote the letter D under "TRASH" and drew the left stick arm in the diagram.

"N," said Arthur.

"There is one N," said Catherine.

Catherine wrote the letter N in the third line.

"Monkey," Arthur guessed.

Catherine then filled out the whole word MONKEY.

"Awesome," said Catherine.

Catherine wrote a tally mark for Arthur and erased the man in the diagram, all the spelled out letters, and all the letters in the TRASH.

Later on in hangman, Arthur was behind Catherine 7-9. Arthur was displeased when Catherine was doing some of the harder words and phrases. At that point, it was Arthur's turn. Catherine wrote out a phrase that had five lines for the first word and four lines for the second word.

"A," said Arthur.

"There is one A," said Catherine.

Catherine wrote the letter A on the second line of the first word.

"E," said Arthur.

"There are three E's," said Catherine.

Catherine wrote the letter E on the fifth line of the first word and two more on the last two lines of the second word.

"B," said Arthur.

"Nope, no B's," said Catherine.

Catherine wrote the letter B under "TRASH" and drew a head in the diagram.

"P," said Arthur.

"There is one P," said Catherine.

Catherine wrote the letter P on the third line of the first word.

"F," said Arthur.

"Nope, no F's," said Catherine.

Catherine wrote the letter F under "TRASH" and drew the stick torso in the diagram.

"R," said Arthur.

"There is one R," said Catherine.

Catherine wrote the letter R on the second line of the second word.

"Maple tree," Arthur guessed.

Catherine then wrote out the whole word MAPLE TREE.

"Awesome," said Catherine.

Then she wrote a tally mark for Arthur. It was 8-9.

Then Arthur and Catherine switched places. Arthur wrote a word phrase that had eight lines for the first, ten lines for the second, and six lines for the third.

"A," said Catherine.

"There are two A's," said Arthur.

Arthur wrote the letter A on the second line of the first word and on the eighth line of the second word.

"E," said Catherine.

"There are four E's," said Arthur.

Arthur wrote the letter E on the fourth line of the first word, and three more on the first odd-numbered lines of the second word.

"I," said Catherine.

"Nope, no I's," said Arthur.

Arthur write the letter I under "TRASH" and drew a head in the diagram.

"O," said Catherine.

"There are four O's," said Catherine.

Arthur wrote the first two O's on the sixth and seven lines of the first word and wrote the last two O's on the fourth and fifth lines of the third word.

"C," said Catherine.

"There is one C," said Arthur.

Arthur wrote the letter C on the second line of the third word.

"K," said Catherine.

"There is one K," said Arthur.

"L," said Catherine.

"There are three L's," said Arthur.

Arthur wrote the first L on the first line of the first word, then the second L on the second line of the second word, and the third L on the sixth line of the third word.

"Lakewood Elementary School," Catherine guessed.

Arthur then wrote out the whole word LAKEWOOD ELEMENTARY SCHOOL.

"Great job," said Arthur.

Arthur then drew a slash through the second four tally marks for Catherine. Arthur then groaned that he lost at 8-10 and fell down to his knees and shook his head in disbelief.

"If I were to learn the words she knows that I've never heard before," Arthur said to himself, "then maybe I would have a better chance of winning."

Later at noon, it was lunchtime. Arthur and Catherine were frying chicken strips and fries. Before they started cooking, Kate was put into her highchair. They cooked around five minutes, until it was all served. Arthur poured lemonade for himself, D.W., and Catherine. He gave Kate some juice in her sippy cup. Arthur, D.W., and Catherine sat at the table. Arthur and Catherine sat next to each other, D.W. sat on the opposite side of them, and Kate's highchair was in between where her siblings were sitting. Kate had to eat only one chicken strip and a few fries. The others who were eating at the table were each eating four chicken strips and a plateful of fries. While they were eating, they started having a conversation.

"After lunch, would you like to play _Super Bionic Bunny_ with me?" Arthur asked to Catherine.

"Sure," said Catherine.

"It's a game for up to two players," said Arthur.

After lunch, Arthur and Catherine picked up the plates, glasses, and Kate's sippy cup and put them in the dishwasher. Arthur then picked up Kate from her highchair and put her in the living room where some of D.W.'s toys were. D.W. then came into the living room to play with Kate.

Arthur walked upstairs and into his room and walked over to the cupboard and took out the SNES video game machine, two controllers, and the game called _Super Bionic Bunny_, and walked downstairs and to the living room.

In the living room, Arthur set the SNES machine in front of the stand where the TV was perched, plugged the machine into the surge protector, hooked up the machine to the TV with the coaxial cable, plugged both controllers into the machine, and then put the game cartridge into the slot. He handed Catherine the instruction manual on how to play the game.

"Turn to pages 7 and 8 and it shows you the controls," said Arthur.

"Okay," said Catherine.

Catherine opened up the manual and turned to pages 7 and 8. On that page, there was the SNES controller that took up both pages, and it had a list of controls for each of the buttons. As she was reading the controls, the directional pad was to move left or right while running on the ground or flying in the air, up was to ascend while flying and to go through doors while on the ground, and down to descend while flying and to crouch while on the ground. Then she read the other buttons. The B Button was to jump, the Y Button was to attack, the A Button was to fly right after jumping, X Button was to use special attacks that require magic points, the L and R Buttons were used to allow the character to run faster, the START Button pauses the game, and last but not least, the SELECT Button was used to swap through different special attacks. The notes read that the A Button does not work while on the ground and that the X Button does not work if the player has no magic points.

After Catherine read the manual, Arthur then boot up the game. They both picked up the controllers and sat on the sofa. Arthur was Player 1, and Catherine was Player 2. When the title screen showed up, Arthur pressed the START Button and it brought up the file select screen that showed four files, which the ones that were saved had players' names on them. FILE A was Arthur's own file and it was on 1-Player, FILE B was the file that Arthur played with Buster, FILE C was the file that Arthur played with Francine, and FILE D was the file that Arthur played with the Brain. Other than the files to select were the blue COPY and the red DELETE. Unfortunately, one of the files was supposed to be deleted, so Arthur decided to delete File D. As Arthur deleted the file, the sound that played was the sound Bionic Bunny makes if the player loses a life, and then file became cleared with its names and its progress scratched off.

After deleting the file, Arthur started creating the file. On the screen, it showed "HOW MANY PLAYERS?", and then Arthur selected "2-PLAYER GAME", then went back to show file select, and on the top of the screen said "ENTER YOUR NAME". While entering a name, the left/right was to select the characters, the B Button was to confirm the characters, the Y Button was to delete the characters, and the START Button was to confirm the name. Arthur then entered his name, and then Catherine entered her name, but it only had room for eight characters and her name had nine characters in it, so she ended up with "CATHY".

"I guess I'll have to go with 'Cathy'," said Catherine. "Some of the people at school call me 'Cathy', but I prefer 'Catherine', and that's who my family calls me. I know a lot of people named 'Catherine' have their names shortened to 'Cathy', but I'm not one of them."

As they started playing, the first thing that came on was the story. After watching the entire story, they started playing on Level 1, and it was Arthur's turn. The game started out with five lives at the very beginning. When it was Player 1's turn, that player played Bionic Bunny who was wearing his true blue superhero outfit. When it was Player 2's turn, that player played Bionic Bunny wearing a red version of that outfit. Players would switch turns after completing a level or losing a life. When the player lost a life with 0 lives left, it was game over and would return to where they last saved the game and would go back to five lives. When Catherine started playing when it was her turn, she tried to remember how the controls went, but she did ask for some advice from Arthur.

In the middle of the game, Arthur and Catherine suddenly heard Kate crying out loud. They paused the game. D.W. walked over to them.

"I think Kate needs her diaper changed," said D.W.

"She does?" asked Catherine. "Is it wet?"

"I'm pretty sure it is," said D.W.

"All right," said Catherine. "I'll go change her."

Catherine stood up from the sofa and walked over to the play area where D.W. and Kate were playing, and picked up Kate.

"All right, baby doll," said Catherine. "Time to change your diaper."

Catherine walked out of the living room, up the stairs, and into D.W. and Kate's room.

After Catherine walked into D.W. and Kate's room, she put Kate on the diaper-changing table and laid her on her back. Then she pulled down Kate's pants and untaped the diaper. After untaping, she saw that there was yellow fluid on it, but in a flash, she wrapped it up and tossed it into the pail. She then took out a tissue from a box of Aardvark Wipes and wiped up Kate, and then tossed the tissue into the pail. Then she took out a clean diaper from the stack, which had the same stickers on it, and put it on Kate.

After diapering Kate, Catherine put Kate's pants back on, and then she picked her up, and then walked down the stairs and back into the living room.

After Catherine returned to the living room, she put Kate down back to the play area and then she sat back down on the sofa to continue playing with Arthur.

"Well, Arthur," said Catherine, "before Francine was potty-trained or just stopped wetting the bed, I used to always change her diapers. Unlike you guys, she and I had to wear cloth diapers with pins instead of disposable ones with tapes when we each were infants, because we didn't need to spend the money buying new packages of disposable diapers."

Catherine started thinking back in time of when she was changing Francine's diapers. In the flashback, there was Catherine at age 9 with her hair in a ponytail and wearing a blue shirt, blue jeans, and red and white sneakers; and Francine at age 1 with her hair a little shorter, and wearing a red short-sleeved shirt, blue overall shorts, and blue and white sneakers. Francine was jumping up and down in a manner for a diaper change. Catherine picked up Francine and carried her into their room that had Catherine's bed and Francine's crib. Catherine placed Francine on the diaper-changing table, and then unbuttoned Francine's overalls and pulled them down to show clear rubber pants, and then unbuttoned the cover to reveal a white diaper with a pin on each side, plus that the diaper was wet. Then she unpinned Francine's diaper, and wrapped the diaper, and then took out a tissue of from a box of Monkey Wipes with a red cap on it and wiped Francine, and then took out a clean diaper and put it on Francine and pinned it, and then put clean rubber pants over Francine's clean diaper and buttoned it up, and then she put Francine's overalls back on and buttoned them up, and picked up Francine off of the diaper-changing table. And while their mother Laverne was watching Francine, Catherine picked up the wet diaper and rubber pants and walked to the laundry area down the hallway, and then put them in one of the washing machines, poured detergent into the filter, closed the lid, set the temperature to HOT/COLD, and then put in four quarters to start the washing machine, and then headed back to her family's apartment.

Back to the present, Arthur then replied to Catherine.

"Cloth diapers?" said Arthur. "But they could still smell."

"Yeah," said Catherine. "But there are even cons with disposables, too."

"Like what?" asked Arthur.

"Well," said Catherine, "the problem with disposables is that kids can get a diaper rash at many risks."

"Oh yeah," said Arthur. "I had a lot of diaper rashes, and so did D.W. and Kate."

"And," continued Catherine, "cloth diapers are probably the worst choice for soil that's far worse than fluids. And you need to dump the soil into the toilet and flush it down, and of course scrub the rest into the toilet, and wash it if enough is scrubbed off."

"If either a cloth or disposable was wet or soiled, it would be very disgusting," said Arthur.

"I know," said Catherine. "But cloth diapers are always cheaper, and people don't throw them away until they decide they're no good."

As Arthur and Catherine continued playing _Super Bionic Bunny_, D.W. suddenly stood up from playing with Kate.

"I got to go potty!" said D.W. in a rush.

D.W. rushed out of the living room and upstairs and into the bathroom.

Five minutes later, Arthur and Catherine paused the game.

"I have to use the bathroom!" said Arthur, shaking a bit.

Arthur then stood up from the sofa and ran out of the living room and ran upstairs. As he reached the second floor, he the bathroom door was closed. He turned the knob, but it was locked. He knocked on the door.

"Yes?" said D.W.'s voice.

"Are done in there, D.W.?" asked Arthur.

"I still got to go," said D.W.'s voice.

"D.W., hurry up!" said Arthur. "I have to go pee right now."

"You can use the other bathroom," said D.W.'s voice.

"I can't," said Arthur. "The toilet's not working in there. Mom and Dad will kill me if they find out someone's been using that bathroom."

"They wouldn't care," said D.W.'s voice.

"No, D.W.," said Arthur. "I heard them say yesterday that their toilet's broken, and they're going to call the Brain's dad to fix it, but unfortunately the Brain and his parents are on vacation and won't be back until tomorrow."

"But I still have to go," said D.W.'s voice.

"You'd better come out of that bathroom!" said Arthur.

"Okay, okay," said D.W.'s voice.

In sixty seconds, he heard the flush, and after D.W. washed her hands, she opened the door.

"Thanks," said Arthur, gently.

After D.W. walked out of the bathroom, Arthur walked in there and closed and locked the door.

D.W. walked back downstairs and back into the living room to play with Kate some more.

More than a minute later, Arthur walked out of the bathroom and sighed a little. He walked back downstairs and back into the living room to continue playing with Catherine.

After Arthur and Catherine played video games two hours straight, they became bored. Arthur then shut off the game, removed the cartridge, disconnected the system from the TV, unplugged it, and then carried them all upstairs and to his room and put them away.

Arthur then came back downstairs and into the living room to do some arm-wrestling with Catherine. On their first attempt, Arthur was using as much of his strength as he could to try and win, but Catherine used even more strength, so she got him down.

"I win," said Catherine.

"Ouch!" said Arthur.

"Sorry," said Catherine.

Arthur and Catherine then played another round of arm-wrestling, but using different hands. On that round, Arthur was wrestling harder than in the first round. This time, Arthur won that round.

"I win," said Arthur.

Catherine sighed of relief.

Arthur and Catherine continued to do some more arm-wrestling, until Arthur's arms grew weary from that game.

"Ouch!" said Arthur. "My arms are getting twisted."

Arthur couldn't believe it. Catherine won more than he did in arm-wrestling. He became very jealous of her.

"I think I can do better than you think," said Arthur.

"That's because I started arm-wrestling when I was seven," said Catherine. "I used to do it with my parents and with Francine of course."

"Francine could do it?" said Arthur.

"Yes," said Catherine.

"She could?" said Arthur. "What if I could beat her in arm-wrestling?"

"Well, I guess you could," said Catherine. "She even became jealous of me when we did arm-wrestling together."

Catherine then remembered back in time of when she did arm wrestling with Francine. They were doing it in the living room. Catherine wrestled Francine down and won.

"Ouch!" said Francine.

"Well, sorry," said Catherine.

"You're always winning," complained Francine.

"That's because I'm older and did arm-wrestling more than you have," said Catherine.

"You are a show-off," complained Francine.

"You're just jealous, because I have done it more than you have," said Catherine.

Back to the present, Arthur sighed of relief.

"Perhaps Francine and I could do some arm-wrestling during a break in class," said Arthur.

"I would guess so," said Catherine.

Later, at 5:30, Arthur picked up the phone and dialed the number to order pizza.

Fifty minutes later, there was a loud knock on the door. Arthur picked up the bills his father handed to him before leaving and walked to the front door. He opened the door, and it was a pizza delivery man carrying a brown cardboard pizza box. Arthur handed the money to the delivery man and received the pizza box.

"Thanks, sir," said Arthur.

"I hope you enjoy," said the delivery man.

Arthur then closed the door as the delivery man started walking back to the car, then carried the box into the kitchen and set it on the kitchen counter. Catherine was putting Kate into her highchair and D.W. was jumping up for joy when the pizza arrived. Arthur opened the pizza box, then walked to the cupboards and took out three medium-sized plates and one small plate. In the pizza box, there were twelve slices. He handed one plate to Catherine and another to D.W. Catherine picked up the first slice and put it on her plate, D.W. also picked up a slice for herself, and then Arthur took out two slices and put one slice on his plate and another slice on Kate's plate. They all carried their plates to the table, and Arthur put Kate's plate on her highchair tray. Arthur then filled Kate's sippy cup with some juice and put the cup on her highchair tray. Then Catherine took out a can of lemonade from the refrigerator and carried it to the table and sat down, D.W. also took out a can of lemonade and then sat down at the table, and then Arthur took out a can of lemonade and then sat down at the table. Arthur sat between Catherine and Kate, and D.W. sat next to Kate.

Catherine, Arthur, D.W., and Kate were all enjoying their pizzas. Catherine, Arthur, and D.W. each ate three slices, but Kate only ate one. Arthur, D.W., and Catherine picked up the plates and put them in the dishwasher. Then they washed out the cans and threw them into the recycle bin. Arthur wiped Kate's face and hands with a wet rag. Arthur then put the remaining pizza slices into a plastic bag and put them in the refrigerator.

After dinner, it was time for D.W. to take a bath. D.W. carried her pajamas from her and Kate's room, walked into the bathroom, and closed the door.

Kate was getting very tired. Right away, Kate wet her diaper. Catherine carried Kate upstairs and into D.W. and Kate's room. Catherine took Kate's dirty diaper off and discarded it and then wiped her up. She then took Kate's nighttime diaper from the stack and put it on her. She then changed Kate's pajamas.

After changing Kate's diapers and pajamas, Catherine put Kate into her crib and closed it up.

"Sweet dreams," whispered Catherine.

Catherine then left D.W. and Kate's room and ran into Arthur who was walking upstairs.

"What do you want to do, Arthur?" asked Catherine.

"I thought we could just watch some _Bionic Bunny_," said Arthur.

"Great," said Catherine.

Catherine walked downstairs and into the living room. Arthur walked to his room and took out a _Bionic Bunny_ VHS cassette and then walked downstairs and into the living room. Catherine was sitting on the sofa waiting for him.

As Arthur walked into the living room, he turned on the TV, powered on the VCR, and then put the cassette into the VCR and started playing it.

While Arthur and Catherine were watching _Bionic Bunny_, D.W. put on her pajamas, brushed her teeth, and walked out of the bathroom carrying her pink jumper, white shirt, white tights, and shoes and socks. Then she walked into her and Kate's room, put the clothes in the laundry hamper, and crawled into bed.

Arthur and Catherine continued watching some more _Bionic Bunny_ until it was close to bedtime for Arthur.

Meanwhile, Francine was dropped off back to her family's apartment.

"Goodbye, Francine," said Muffy, waving from the limousine.

"See you next time," said Francine.

Francine then walked into the building, walked to her apartment as Laverne opened the door, walked into her and Catherine's room, and then changed into her pajamas.

At the Reads' house, Arthur walked to his room, put away the _Bionic Bunny_ video, changed into his pajamas and slippers, and then walked downstairs. Arthur was feeling a little tired, but Catherine still had to stay until Arthur's parents came home.

Arthur and Catherine then scooped themselves a little dish of peppermint ice cream for a bedtime snack. They were both enjoying the ice cream.

After a snack, Arthur and Catherine each drank a glass of water. Then they walked into the living room and sat on the sofa to relax.

Later, after 10:00, Arthur and Catherine could hear the back door creaking open. It was Arthur's parents coming home after watching a musical for over two hours.

"Arthur, wake up," whispered Catherine.

"Huh?" whispered Arthur.

"Arthur, we're home," called David.

Arthur then stepped up from the sofa.

"Mom, Dad!" said Arthur, excitedly.

Arthur rushed over to his parents and hugged them as they both hugged him back. Catherine stood up from the sofa and walked over to Arthur and his parents.

"How was the show?" asked Arthur.

"The show was great," said David.

Then they walked up the stairs and to D.W. and Kate's room. As they walked in there, they quietly walked over to D.W.

"D.W., were home," said Jane, quietly.

"Mommy, Daddy," said D.W., quietly with an excited face.

D.W. then hugged her parents as her parents hugged them back.

"How was the show?" asked D.W.

"It was wonderful," said Jane.

"Goodnight, D.W.," they all whispered to D.W.

Then Arthur, Catherine, and Arthur's parents walked of the room and closed the door. Then Arthur brushed his teeth, walked to his room, crawled into his bed, took off his glasses and put them on the dresser, and then he put Pal on top of his stomach that was under the covers. Catherine then walked into his room and walked over to him.

"Goodnight, Arthur," said Catherine.

"Goodnight, Catherine," replied Arthur.

Then Catherine walked out of his room and while looking at Arthur who was sound asleep, she slowly closed the door.

Before David and Jane were about to go to bed, David paid the bills to Catherine for all the babysitting.

"Thanks for watching the kids," said David.

"My pleasure," replied Catherine.

"Goodnight, Catherine," said David and Jane as they were walking into their room.

"Goodnight, David and Jane," replied Catherine.

Catherine then walked down the stairs and then she walked out the front door. As she left the Reads' house, she stepped into her family's car and then headed home.

**THE END**


End file.
